Offshore radio
Encyclopedia
Offshore radio is radio
broadcasting from ships or fixed maritime structures, usually in international waters
. The claimed first wireless broadcast of music and speech for the purpose of entertainment was transmitted from a Royal Naval craft, the HMS Andromeda, in 1907. The broadcast was organized by a Lieutenant Quentin Crauford using the callsign QFP while the ship was anchored off Chatham in the Thames Estuary, England. The majority of offshore broadcasters have however been pirate radio
stations using seaborne broadcasting as a means to circumvent national broadcasting regulations, for example the practice has been used by broadcasting organizations like the Voice of America
as a means of circumventing national broadcasting regulations of other nations.
Offshore pirate stations have operated off the coasts of Belgium
, Denmark
, Israel
, The Netherlands
, New Zealand
, Sweden
, The United Kingdom
, Yugoslavia
and the United States
. See Pirate radio
for full details.
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
broadcasting from ships or fixed maritime structures, usually in international waters
International waters
The terms international waters or trans-boundary waters apply where any of the following types of bodies of water transcend international boundaries: oceans, large marine ecosystems, enclosed or semi-enclosed regional seas and estuaries, rivers, lakes, groundwater systems , and wetlands.Oceans,...
. The claimed first wireless broadcast of music and speech for the purpose of entertainment was transmitted from a Royal Naval craft, the HMS Andromeda, in 1907. The broadcast was organized by a Lieutenant Quentin Crauford using the callsign QFP while the ship was anchored off Chatham in the Thames Estuary, England. The majority of offshore broadcasters have however been pirate radio
Pirate radio
Pirate radio is illegal or unregulated radio transmission. The term is most commonly used to describe illegal broadcasting for entertainment or political purposes, but is also sometimes used for illegal two-way radio operation...
stations using seaborne broadcasting as a means to circumvent national broadcasting regulations, for example the practice has been used by broadcasting organizations like the Voice of America
Voice of America
Voice of America is the official external broadcast institution of the United States federal government. It is one of five civilian U.S. international broadcasters working under the umbrella of the Broadcasting Board of Governors . VOA provides a wide range of programming for broadcast on radio...
as a means of circumventing national broadcasting regulations of other nations.
Offshore pirate stations have operated off the coasts of Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
, Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
, Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
, The Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
, New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
, Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
, The United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....
and the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. See Pirate radio
Pirate radio
Pirate radio is illegal or unregulated radio transmission. The term is most commonly used to describe illegal broadcasting for entertainment or political purposes, but is also sometimes used for illegal two-way radio operation...
for full details.
See also
- Marine Broadcasting Offences ActMarine Broadcasting Offences ActThe Marine, &c., Broadcasting Act 1967 c.41, shortened to Marine Broadcasting Offences Act, became law in the United Kingdom at midnight on Monday, August 14, 1967 and was repealed by the...
- Laser 558Laser 558Laser 558 was an offshore pirate radio station launched in May 1984 by a consortium of British and American business and broadcasting executives, some of whom have never been named. Laser 558 used disc jockeys recruited from the USA. The station was aboard the ship the MV Communicator in...
- Radio CarolineRadio CarolineRadio Caroline is an English radio station founded in 1964 by Ronan O'Rahilly to circumvent the record companies' control of popular music broadcasting in the United Kingdom and the BBC's radio broadcasting monopoly...
- Radio Northsea
- Radio Essex
- Radio LondonWonderful Radio LondonRadio London, also known as Big L and Wonderful Radio London, was a top 40 offshore commercial station that operated from 16 December 1964 to 14 August 1967, from a ship anchored in the North Sea, three and a half miles off Frinton-on-Sea, Essex, England...
- Radio NordRadio NordRadio Nord was a Swedish offshore commercial station that operated briefly from 8 March 1961 to 30 June 1962 from a ship anchored in international waters of the Baltic Sea off Stockholm, Sweden. While the station was dubbed as a pirate radio station, its actual operation took place within the laws...
- Radio Sutch, which became Radio City (pirate radio station)Radio City (pirate radio station)Radio City was a British pirate radio station that broadcast from Shivering Sands Army Fort, one of the abandoned Second World War Maunsell Sea Forts in the Thames Estuary.- Origins :...
- Radio VeronicaRadio VeronicaRadio Veronica was an offshore radio station that began broadcasting in 1960, and broadcast from offshore for over fourteen years. It was set up by independent radio, TV and household electrical retailers in the Netherlands to stimulate the sales of radio receivers by providing an alternative to...
- Swinging Radio EnglandSwinging Radio EnglandSwinging Radio England was a top 40 offshore commercial station billed as the "World's Most Powerful" that operated from 3 May 1966 to 13 November 1966 from a ship in the North Sea, three and a half miles off Frinton-on-Sea, Essex, England...
- Voice of AmericaVoice of AmericaVoice of America is the official external broadcast institution of the United States federal government. It is one of five civilian U.S. international broadcasters working under the umbrella of the Broadcasting Board of Governors . VOA provides a wide range of programming for broadcast on radio...
- Voice of PeaceVoice of PeaceVoice of Peace was an offshore radio station that served the Middle East for 20 years from the former Dutch cargo vessel MV Peace , anchored off the coast of Tel Aviv...
(Israel) - The Boat That RockedThe Boat That RockedThe Boat That Rocked is a 2009 British comedy film written and directed by Richard Curtis, with pirate radio in the United Kingdom during the 1960s as its setting. The film has an ensemble cast featuring Philip Seymour Hoffman, Bill Nighy, Rhys Ifans, Nick Frost, and Kenneth Branagh...
Movie
External links
- All abouth Offshore Radio - website dedicated to the offshore stations.
- The Broadcasting Fleet (Attempts to provide a comprehensive list of all ships and offshore structures used for broadcasting)
- Offshore Music Radio - website dedicated the music and radio presenters of the offshore stations.
- Radio London - site dedicated to UK offshore radio, especially Radio London.